Slave
by summertower17
Summary: She was born to slavery. She was raised to be one. Does that mean she was born for him? She was his slave. And strangely, she was fine with the arrangement. Ish. An 18OC, AU FanFic. Contains coarse language.


**Hello there people of FanFiction and beyond! I am writing a new story once again. It just came to me while I was reading _Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter_ one day. For some reason, Hibari Kyoya also came to mind. And the idea just kinda stuck so I decided to expand it and type it down. I feel a bit uncertain about posting this, so discontinuation (or most likely deletion) could be highly plausible. But if you like it, lemme know 'cause it'd be mean for me to delete the story. Anyway here it is, _Slave. _Enjoy!**

_**- summer**_

_Gift giving takes talent... especially when you're out shopping for slaves._

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_Thousands of years ago, vampires and humans had fought in a war which the latter had lost – the Blood War. And although the vampires had won, many casualties have been suffered by their kind. And so to keep the humans in line, slavery was promoted. Although, the humans who have supported the vampires in the war times have been spared from this labourer's fate. Since then, the vampires have ruled over the Realm. _

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**Anyone Else?  
**

The man wearing the fedora looked around him, taking stock of his surroundings. Of the so-called "Plaza." It might have been worthy of the title once. But that time has long since passed. Dilapidated buildings and crumbling monuments surrounded the wide square area which accommodated several stalls. Its vendors ranged from desperate humans in dire need of a wash to shifty-looking vampires who were so extravagantly dressed that they looked out of place standing on front of their shabby stands.

The man could barely keep himself from sneering. He loathed the place with a passion. Its smells assaulted his nose non-stop. The insistent noise of too many people gathered around in a space that barely had enough room to hold them in made his ears ring. But it couldn't be helped. No matter how disgusting the conditions might be, the Plaza was a place where anyone could find and acquire pretty much anything. For the right price.

"Reborn, are you sure this is a good idea?" The tall blonde man asked with an uncertain frown as he scratched the back of his neck. The man in the fedora shot him a look. "All my ideas are good ideas, Dino." Though he said this, he silently questioned himself whether bringing the bronco had in fact been a good one. "I would not be here otherwise." Dino questioned no more after that.

Reborn proceeded forward then. He had sure and smooth strides that instantly parted a way for him and his companion like the Red Sea had once done for Moses. Some of the pitiful humans had even dropped to their knees and touched their heads to the ground. He scented the fear seeping through their pores at the sight of his infamous self. That had almost made him smile. Almost.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Dino frowning at them. The compassionate fool. They were humans, that was all. He was a vampire, and one of a noble rank, too. He had no place to be pitying _these_ particular sort of humans. Nothing but vermin to society.

He walked ahead, leaving the blonde a few paces behind and sought out what he came in this revolting hellhole for. It was not that difficult. The tent was red as blood and inarguably the grandest, cleanest, and most appealing place in the Plaza. He approached the stall that had been put in front of its entrance where a short portly vampire with pig-like eyes was situated. When the he saw Reborn and Dino approach, he smiled his businessman smile and stood up with a great effort from his chair.

"Ah, my Lords! I am filled with such gratitude for you to grace me with your marvellous presence on this fine day," he said with a flourish. He whipped out a white handkerchief from his coat pocket and started dabbing at his forehead for sweat that was not there.

Reborn eyed him coldly. "I've no interest in such flatteries, slaver. Show me your wares and let's call it a day, shall we?"

The portly vampire's smile faltered and he swallowed visibly. "Right. Yes, come with me, my lords." He turned, went to the tent's entrance, and opened the flap for the two Lords to enter.

Inside the tent, the atmosphere was cooler. The noises were muffled, and the scents were much more pleasant and a tad bit floral. Although they were underscored with fear, anxiety, and apprehension. The sources of such emotions were the women. There were twelve of them in all, Reborn sensed.

He examined them. The youngest was a girl who looked to be about twelve. The child huddled closer to an older girl who had her arms wrapped around her, singing softly. Reborn ignored this and went further into the tent. A skylight let the sun in to provide illumination. Cushions were scattered around in different parts of the room. A small raised platform had been erected in the front of the tent to serve as a sort of stage for, Reborn guessed, showcasing the "wares" on more formal days.

The portly vampire toddled over to the two gentlemen. "Anything specific in mind my Lords? We have an exceptional lo–"

"I will sign for you when your assistance is of need." Reborn told him sharply.

The vampire fidgeted with his coat. "Y-yes, my Lord. Very well. I-I will be out front." He bowed low then left the tent hastily.

This time, Reborn didn't bother to hide his sneer. He wondered why anyone would have wanted to turn the man, snivelling oaf that he is. He resumed his composure once again and looked at his companion. Dino was looking around with that sympathetic frown of his again.

"Which do you think would be suitable?" Reborn asked. Dino snapped out of whatever train of thought he'd been on. Being the ever articulate young gentleman that he is, he answered with the utmost eloquence. "Huh?"

Reborn rolled his eyes. "Which of these ladies should we fucking take home and wrap up in a fucking parcel with a happy fucking birthday card taped to the side?"

"No need to cuss now Reborn." Dino looked around, peering into every face. "Hard to say. He's not really the type to take pleasure in lady company. A pretty blonde maybe? They do say that gentlemen prefer blondes." The bronco sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. The yellow-haired girls turned to face them. Some gave shy smiles, while others cowered into the tent's folds.

"You forget that the gentleman we're here for is not a gentle man. And the two blondes sent to him as gifts a few years back have been... _disposed of_ for reasons unspecified." The smiles faltered when Reborn said this.

"A redhead then? They say redheads are delightfully spirited little things."

Reborn walked around the tent, baring the women further to his scrutinizing black eyes. "Do you believe in everything people say to you Dino? It is not merely the hair color that we take into account here. Kyoya Hibari is a man of mysterious tastes. And I highly doubt he'd sit well with something... spirited."

"Well then maybe we need that guy out there?" Dino said simply.

"No need for that, my Lords." A tall woman with mouse-brown hair gathered in a bun came in through the tent flap. Reborn straightened up. "And who may you be, pray tell?"

She raised her thin eyebrows. "Don't think that my lout of a husband would be able to run this establishment alone. In fact, it would do quite well even without him. I am Madame Tremaine. And you are the Lords Reborn, and Dino. It is an honour to meet you. And I assure you that you would find my presence much more tolerable than Darrow's."

Reborn assumed that Darrow was the portly vampire's name. He wondered why anyone would want to be married to the man. Madame Tremaine seemed to follow his train of thought as she said, "It was a union of convenience." She smiled bitterly, her fangs slightly lengthened. "So, what is it that my Lords want in particular?"

"She needs to be nice-looking." Dino said. Reborn gave him an exasperated look that practically screamed "No shit Sherlock."

"If you look around, you'll find that we have an abundance of that, my Lord. And I am quite proud to say that all of them are maidens." She gave a fond look at the girls in the tent. The fondness was marred by the chilling wicked gleam in her eyes. "They're very hard to come by these days my Lords."

"Very indeed, it would seem." Reborn started pacing. "We want someone... _special._ This girl won't just be another parlour maid or a feeder. She'd be a companion of sorts. A gift for... a _dear friend_ of ours." He said 'dear friend' in a derisive fashion.

"Oh, I see," the Madame said, nodding. She walked over to one girl who was huddled up in a corner, watching the exchange warily. Madame Tremaine grabbed her upper arm in a firm grip and pulled her up to her feet. She brought the girl over to the two vampire Lords.

"This one is a marvellous dancer. Well, once you get her... motivated. If you know what I mean." The girl was of average height with graceful proportions and light-brown hair that hung limply down her back. Reborn took her chin gently with his hands and tipped her face up to his. Her eyes were a teary-blue and there was a purplish bruise on her left cheek. He let go. A simple damaged dancer would not do.

Madame Tremaine whispered harshly to the girl. "Go on. Dance! Show the nice gentlemen what you could do." The Madame jerked the girl's arm and she gave out a small whimper and her eyes started to water.

"That won't be necessary Madame." Dino said gently. "Is there anyone else?"

"One moment my Lords." Tremaine pushed the girl back (who Dino caught before she fell) and went over to the far side of the tent. She didn't have to manhandle the next girl. The blonde was nearly bouncing over to the Lords. She curtsied. Tremaine smiled. "This one is a fine choice. She is the most promising of my charges. You can see that for yourselves." Tremaine said proudly.

The girl was short with a round face and her blonde hair was as straight as corn silk. To sum her up in one word: eager.

"She can engage people easily in conversation. The air will never be stale whenever she's around, I tell you. Talking is like her second nature. Not a very common trait with human girls these days. All shy and meek. That lot don't sell very well." Tremaine said distastefully.

Reborn saw Dino wince when the Madame had mentioned talking as the girl's second nature. He could see the flaw in that, too. Kyoya Hibari was not a very talkative man. Neither did he appreciate talkative people. Reborn was sure that the girl would be dead in a day, more or less (most likely less). That would mean another dead blonde. The only blonde the man seemed to tolerate was the idiot standing next to him.

"The man's not much of a talker. He hates talking actually. More of an action speaks louder than words kinda guy." Dino said, seeming speculative with a hand rubbing his chin. He looked quite comical.

"Is there anyone else?" Reborn asked with slight curtness. His patience was thinning by the second. Kyoya Hibari was hard enough to find gifts for as it is. He would not have bothered to give him one in the first place. But it would be considered odd that a vampire of his stature would not present a gift to a fellow council member. And it couldn't be just _any_ gift. Society seemed to get more and more demanding every turn of the century. But if he did get the gift right, it could prove to be a very good political leverage in the future...

The Madame pursed her lips and sighed. "Well there is another one..." Her sharp eyes darted to the corner of the room. She was looking at the girl who had her arms wrapped around the child, presumably her sister. Before the Madame could go ahead and manhandle her, Reborn decided to take initiative. It wouldn't do to have a bruised gift.

He walked over to the two girls. The one that the Madame had referred to looked up at him. He crouched in front of her and gently took her chin in his hand like he did with the dancer girl. Her eyes were big and round. They resembled molten chocolate in color and were framed by long thick lashes that curved out elegantly. Her small heart-shaped face was framed by wild mahogany hair that had natural ringlets. She was the dollish sort of beautiful. Although she was not the most beautiful human girl Reborn had seen.

She blinked at him and swallowed noticeably, Reborn noted. Although he was puzzled by the fact that the action was not done out of fear. The gesture was more out of keen interest than trepidation. He cocked his head to one side. "How are you special?" He asked the girl.

She frowned and blinked again. This time in slight annoyance at his cheek. She opened her mouth to respond when Darrow entered noisily. Reborn clucked his tongue sharply in irritation and turned to look at the tent's entrance where the idiotic portly vampire stood. "Moira, dear I–" He stopped talking abruptly when his wife sent a withering look his way. He glanced at Reborn and said, "Excuse me my Lords, I would like to have a word with the Madame. So, if you wouldn't mind my borrowing her..." Dino, the polite gentleman that he is, wouldn't have minded. The request was mainly for Reborn's consideration.

Reborn turned his attention back to the girl. Darrow took this as his response and went out of the tent once again with his wife in tow.

"Well?" Reborn raised his brows. The girl's frown deepened. "The Madame said you were a gentleman. I think she may have sealed her first impression too early." She said.

Reborn heard Dino snort as he tried to hold his laughter in unsuccessfully. In spite of himself, Reborn gave the girl a small amused smile. "What are you called?" He asked this instead of 'What is your name?' for slaves don't get to have names until their masters decide to give them one.

"Well, I get called many things. Most of them aren't very pleasant." The girl shrugged. It was awkward, what with the smaller girl cradled in her arms, lightly sleeping with a small crease between her brows. Reborn reached out and brushed blonde hair away from the child's face.

"I'd expect nothing less from what I have seen of the Tremaines." Reborn said casually.

"The Madame's sister isn't all that bad. She's nice to us. She calls me Mia." The girl said thoughtfully.

Reborn's eyes widened slightly. He did not expect the girl to be so open. Even going so far as to admitting that a person who was not her master had given her a name. It was against the law to give slaves names when you have yet to claim them (Reborn thought it was a petty rule). And Mia was not something someone would call an unclaimed slave by.

"Why do you tell me this? Even _you_ should know that such an act is against the law. Are you planning to incriminate the Madame's sister?" Reborn asked her.

She looked at him, brown eyes probing into his. "You won't incriminate her. You don't look like the type to waste time on trivial misdemeanours."

Reborn chuckled softly and let his fangs show, just to see the girl's reaction. "How do you know what type of person I am? Looks can be deceiving."

The girl eyed his fangs indifferently. "Well it's not exactly the looks that I'm judging you with at the moment, sir."

"You dare judge me? You are but a human. A slave, no less." Reborn said this lightly with no hint of malice or scorn.

The little girl in her arms stirred and opened her eyes tiredly. "Everyone judges, sir. It's a knee-jerk reaction. Not even vampires are immune to it. And I am not claimed. I am not a slave yet."

Reborn grinned, fangs and all. He liked the girl. If Hibari will not have her, he decided he'd keep her as a pet. He stood up. Dino was sitting on the makeshift stage, watching and listening to him talk to the girl. He was smiling.

Reborn turned to a girl with her knees tucked under her chin and snapped his fingers in front of her face. "You there. Go get the Madame." She blinked at him rapidly, bobbed her head in affirmation, and scurried out of the tent. Not long after, the Madame and her husband entered.

"You have found what you seek, my Lords?" The Madame asked with her lips strained into a thin line. Reborn wondered what they'd talked about but was neither curious enough to care, or suspicious enough to ask.

"Yes, quite. But it would be of great aid if you'd tell us a little bit more of the girl's," Reborn glanced at the said girl, "finer points."

"Well, my Lord, she is a splendid thing!" Darrow piped in. "She can read and write, sing, cook, clean, and a lot more other things."

Reborn looked at the girl. Her brown eyes looked sad, and her forehead was creased in a brooding frown. The blonde little girl was alternating her looks between him and Darrow, clutching desperately at her older companion's arm.

"How much for her?" Reborn turned his gaze back to the Tremaines.

Darrow rubbed his chin like he was contemplating about the right price. "Well, my Lords, she has been quite something for us. Been quite attached to the family, you know? It's hard to put a price on that." The Madame narrowed her eyes at her husband.

Reborn's face went blank. He had no patience for such blatant pretentiousness. He took out a leather pouch from the inside pocket of his coat. "Five hundred Blood Rubies." His voice was cold and left no room for argument. And five hundred Blood Rubies was already a hefty price in itself for a slave. But that didn't stop the ambitious Darrow from trying.

"W-well, five hundred is g-good but–"

"Five hundred it is, my Lord." The Madame cut in fiercely. She took the pouch from Reborn's proffered hand.

Reborn pitied the Madame for her marriage. _Whatever convenience it once offered before doesn't seem so nice when paired up with little shits like Darrow._ Reborn thought.

"It has been a _pleasure_ doing–"

"No!" A small tinkling voice cried out.

All heads snapped to the little girl who had her arms wrapped around Reborn's purchase. The older of the two looked both shocked, sad, and scared for her younger companion's actions.

"Please, _please_ don't take Mia away!" She looked at Reborn, her blue eyes were big and watery like she was keeping herself from crying. "Please!"

"Pardons, my Lords. The thing is relatively new. Lacks discipline." The Madame went over to the little girl, bloody murder in her eyes. She pulled at her arms so that they released their hold of the older girl with a vampire's efficiency. Hard enough for the little girl to get hurt and let go but not enough that she'd lose her arms. "I'd make sure to fix that."

She pulled the girl to her feet and started to drag her away. "No! No! No!" The little girl screamed. The tears had burst from her eyes and were running down her cheeks. "Mia!"

The girl Reborn had bought – Mia – had stood up and tried to stop the Madame's assault. With blurring vampire speed, Reborn was at the girl's back, gripping her upper arms firmly, not hard enough to bruise. She needn't join the little scuffle. "No, please let her go! Let her go!" She struggled in Reborn's grip. "Please, please don't hurt her."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the Madame had now twisted her hands in the little girl's hair, yanking her head back and exposing her throat. Her fangs gleamed with in the light coming from the skylight overhead. She came at the little girl's throat with the speed of a darting snake.

Dino was faster.

The Madame was left shocked and panting on her rear. The blonde Lord had snatched the little girl from her and shoved her away. She stared at Dino with fear in her wide eyes. "My Lord... I–"

"I will buy her." He said. In that moment, he was truly Lord Dino of the Chiavarone Family. His posture was straight, his shoulders set, and his brown eyes were hard. He exuded sureness, authority, and determination the way he only did at times of distress and gravity, or when he was bringing out his hero-complex. Reborn gave him a small smile that he did not see.

"Three hundred Blood Rubies, is that enough?" He fished inside his pocket and produced a pouch similar to Reborn's. He thrust it into Darrow's hands and pushed past him, heading towards the tent flap. He shifted the little girl in his arms who was staring at him with eyes and mouth wide open.

"I'll meet you in the car Reborn." He said then left.

Reborn let go of Mia's arms. She turned to look at him. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her mouth open and closed like a fish as she tried to form words. Finally, she said, "Is she going to be alright with him?"

Reborn raised a brow. "I can't guarantee you that." The girl's eyes widened in fear for her companion's safety, so he added, "Dino might be a vampire, but he's the clumsiest person I know. Worry not. A subordinate of his accompanied us today." The girl gave him a weird look, obviously not getting the part about the subordinate but decided not to question. She instead looked around the tent, eyes resting on each girl yet to be claimed. They all stared back at her, but she did not waver. She did not look at the Tremaines. The Madame still sat unmoving on the ground, looking venomously at Mia. Her husband merely gaped at the pouch in his hand.

"Will we be leaving soon?" Mia asked him.

"Yes." He walked over to the Madame and helped her to her feet. "Until we meet again. Which I hope would not be for a long time... or better yet, not at all." He smiled at her.

"Come." He said to Mia.

They went out of the tent. Outside, the Plaza was still alive with vendors and shoppers. They all bowed down as Reborn passed them by, once again drawing away from him. Mia stayed close behind. They turned down a narrow cobbled street, leaving the Plaza behind, and emerged shortly after onto the main road where a sleek black limousine idled. A man with a moustache wearing a suit stood waiting by it. He inclined his head in respect when he saw Reborn approach and opened the limo's door.

"Thank you Romario." Reborn said.

He gestured for the girl to enter. She looked at him uncertainly. But when she saw her companion sitting inside the car, Reborn saw apprehension leave her face and she tumbled in at once. She drew the little girl into her arms who embraced her in turn. Reborn went in and sat beside Dino and Romario closed the door after him.

Sadly, Dino was back to his normal shit-headed self.

Romario got in the driver's side and asked, "Where to, my Lords?" which the two vampire Lords heard perfectly, even with the divider rolled up.

"To Vongola Castle, please Romario." Dino told him.

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**Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave your comments, questions, suggestions, and corrections. They're very much loved.**


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